The Prodigy
by TheDarkSpark666
Summary: What if a person from our world was chosen by Primus and Unicron? What if he forever changed Transformers:Prime? What if he figured out nanotechnology? What if he had an army of Sparkless? What if friends came soon after? This is the story of Zane, leader of the Chosen.
1. Prologue

DISCLAIMER: I do not own Transformers, nor any references I may make to other stories, games, or movies, only my OCs. If I owned Transformers, this following Fanfic would occur.

Rated T for wiggle room.

{_~_}

A lone boy sat in front of a TV screen. He looked no more than 15 years old. He was an even 6 foot, and had black hair that stood straight up, brown eyes, and was lightly tanned. He was dressed in a grey sweatshirt and black sweatpants. His parents were not home, they had gone on a vacation to Las Vegas. The room he was in was the family room, as it had the only TV that could be used to actually watch TV. He was watching Transformers Age of Extinction, and was probably getting waay to emotionally invested in it, but it made the experience that much more enjoyable. He watched on in disbelief as Lockdown was killed.

"That," he said,"is why you should never underestimate your opponents. It always comes back to bite you in the butt."

The boy started thinking what he would do if he was in a Transformers universe.

"Certainly not underestimate anyone. They might be my undoing. Nor explain my plan to those I captured. If they were to be freed they would hold a lot of important info. And last but not least, join neither side. The Autobots care to much about the means to an end, while the Decepticons have a horrible goal. No, it would have to be a third faction. One that cares little for reputation or honor."

The hairs on the back of the boys neck started to prickle, making him feel uneasy. He paused the movie and listened intently, but no noises or movements were noticed. He settled back down and pressed play, feeling the beginning of some of his paranoia. The boy tried to shake it off, but it just grew in intensity.

By now, Optimus Prime was giving his speech. The boy fake gagged, thinking "Lockdown, you were right. The cause will betray you. How does Optimus not understand that? I will never know. I wish I could warn him of the dangers, be it the bayverse or maybe the Transformers Prime. Hopefully the last one, I liked the characters a lot more. Especially Soundwave, he never deserved to be locked in the Shadowzone."

When the credits started rolling, the boy looked at the clock to see it was almost midnight, so he shut off the TV, and went to his bedroom. He laid down on his bed and went out like a light.

{_~_}

The boy opened his eyes to see he was... in the middle of what might very well be Space. Except, it felt off, somehow. The galaxies were as colorful as ever, the empty Space as black as ever, but still something felt wrong. That's when it occurred to him. There was a presence, one that made the hair on the back of his neck stand on end, just like before.

The boy twisted and tried to turn to find the presence, but being in the vacuum of space made that impossible. His struggled continued, but was still unable to do anything. After some time, a metal platform appeared beneath him, and he fell to it. The boy stood, and glanced at the metal. Whatever it was, it certainly wasn't a metal he could recognize. Before he could take a closer look, a deep, commanding voice spoke. But, it somehow seemed to be ancient, and full of wisdom. Much like a grandfather, all the way down to it's soothing quality.

**"Zane Alexander Livingstone, we have chosen you,"** the voice said, startling the boy, Zane. He flinched, but then wiped his face of emotion.

"Chosen me? For what? Why? And who is 'we'?" Asked Zane, all the while trying to keep a straight face and not revealing any emotions. He just hoped that this would end well.

**"I am Primus, God of what is Cybertron in your language."** Zane's eyes widened at that realization.

A second voice spoke, this one filled with amusement, hatred, and malice, reminding Zane of someone who had been wronged his whole life.

**"AND I AM UNICRON THE CHAOS-BRINGER. YOU HAVE BEEN CHOSEN TO SAVE THE SPAWN OF MY ENEMY, ALONG WITH MY BODY. YOU ARE THE BEST POSSIBLE CANDIDATE FOR THIS JOB DUE TO YOUR... VIEWS ON REALITY. YOU WANT END THIS WAR DIFFERENTLY THAN FATE DICREED. AND TO ANSWER YOUR QUESTION, WE ARE PRIMUS AND UNICRON! WE NEEDED TO COMBINE STRENGTHS TO FIND A SAVIOR, AS WE ARE... TOO WEAK ON OUR OWN TO BRING YOU INTO OUR WORLD."**

Zane's eyes widened in shock before Primus continued.

**"You have two choices to make, each with two options. These choices will greatly affect what you will be able to do, so choose carefully. The first: my Allspark, or Unicron's Dark Spark."**

"Wait, how do I know I can believe you. Am I drugged, asleep, hallucinating, or is this indeed real?"

**"It is a combination, I suppose, between sleep and reality. Take it on faith, as the pastors on your planet would say."**

"Forgive me if I don't take the advice of a pastor. Many of them do not exactly have a good track record for... anything at all, really."

**"ONCE AGAIN, YOU HAVE PROVEN WHY I WANT YOU TO BE-"**

"**You need to make your choice now. My own Allspark, the giver of life and the holder of the knowledge of a thousand generations. Or the Dark Spark, the Spark of the Chaos-Bringer, giver of pure power. What do you choose?"**

Zane watched as two objects appeared on the platform, the Allspark, whole again, and the Dark Spark. Zane Immediately walked to the Dark Spark and grabbed it. The cube then disappeared.

**"GOOD," **said Unicron, finally speaking again.** " JUST AS I HOPED. NOW, THE LAST CHOICE. AUTOBOTS, OR DECEPTICONS?"**

"Neither" smirked Zane, finally deciding to just give in and ride this out.

**"Very well. Now that the decisions are out of the way, you must understand a couple things."**

"Like what?"

**"THAT YOU WILL NOT BE ABLE TO RETURN TO THIS WORLD, THAT YOU MUST MAKE SURE WE SURVIVE, AND THAT THE WAR BETWEEN PRIMUS' CHILDREN IS OVER, ONE WAY OR ANOTHER. WE WILL GIVE YOU KNOWLEDGE OF A FEW THINGS TO HELP YOUR CAUSE, ANYTHING IN PARTICULAR YOU NEED?"**

"How about the knowledge on how to make the transformers in Age of Extinction, info on the basics of nanotechnology, advanced applications of it, and the knowledge on theoretical applications. And the ability to create more of this metal beneath me."

"**I can see how that could prove helpful."**

"And a 5 exabyte, generation 6 IPod with a few videos and songs downloaded onto it?"

"**WHATEVER YOU MAY NEED, MY PRODIGY."**

{_~_}

As soon as Zane uttered those words, the scene changed. In front of him lay a road, to his left desert, and to his right a town. He looked down at himself, to see he was wearing dark blue jeans and a plain black jacket. Zane unzipped the jacket to see a black t-shirt. The entire outfit fit perfectly with his normal attire; not too flashy and yet not too much like the Unabomber. He zipped the jacket back up realizing it was nighttime, and therefore cold. He started heading for the town, knowing he would have to obtain the necessities.

He put his hands in his pockets to keep warm, and felt a small, rectangular, plastic thing, and so he pulled it out. Zane realized that he had felt a case for an IPod, so he turned the IPod on. He typed in the first numbers that came to mind -1369- and the IPod logged on. He started at the screen in horror for a second, then said,

"Never mind. I don't want to know why that worked."

{_~_}

**"You"re rubbing off on me."**

**"AWW... DON'T MAKE IT SOUND LIKE A BAD THING. ADMIT IT, YOU ENJOY THE FUN OF MESSING WITH MY SPAWN."**

Silence was his only reply.

{_~_}

Zane looked on Google earth to see where on Unicron he was at, to see he was in Jasper, Nevada. He googled Jasper, Nevada to see the surrounding area. It turned out that just over a kilometer to the south lay a small forest, the perfect hiding place. Zane paused for a moment, looked up at the sky to find the North star, then went in the opposite direction.

{_~_}

After walking for about ten minutes, Zane stopped at what was little more than a couple dozen trees with large distances between each.

"How is this a forest? Even a grove is an exaggeration!"

Zane paused momentarily, wondering how to use the powers he may not have even gotten.

**"DO YOU REALLY HAVE SO LITTLE FAITH IN ME?"** Asked a voice. Zane looked around him then asked, "Unicron, would you have a lot of faith in yourself?"

**"...TOUCHÈ. ANYWAY, I WANT YOU TO ENVISION YOURSELF AS A CONTAINER. A FRAGILE, FEEBLE CONTAINER."**

Zane scowled, "Did you just call me fragile?" He asked in a deceptively calm voice, the kind parents use to scare their children without yelling.

**"MY APOLOGIES, ZANE, YOU ARE NOT FRAGILE. CONTAINER. YOU ARE MORE OF A DAINTY VASE: SO _VERY_ EASY TO BREAK. THOUGH, TO STAY WITH THE PREVIOUS METAPHOR, YOU CAN ONLY USE SO MUCH ENERGY AT ONCE WITHOUT CAUSING A GIGANTIC MESS. SPECIFICALLY, OF THE BLOODY, LOSE YOUR BODY AND SOUL IN AN EXPLOSION OF INFERNAL POWER KIND. NOW, IMAGINE A SMALL TRICKLE OF POWER COMING OUT, STRAIGHT FROM YOUR NOW TAINTED SOUL. USE THAT TO SHAPE THE UNIVERSE HOWEVER YOU WISH." **there was a slight pause,** " I AM TOO WEAK. THIS CONVERSATION CAN NOT LAST MUST LONGER. BE CAREF-"**

"Hello, Unicron?" Asked Zane, " Are you still there?" a short wait, "oh well. I guess I will have to be careful of what I do until I can talk to Unicron or Primus."

Zane followed Unicron's instructed, and imagined the ground beneath him turning into metal, Cybertronian metal. Zane watched with wide eyes as metal slowly spread out from beneath him. When it got 10 meters away from him, he put his hand to his forehead, feeling the beginnings of a headache, and to wipe away the drops of sweat forming.

He continued to make it spread, even as the headache slowly grew. After a few more moments, the metal's growth slowed dramatically while the headache grew exponentially, making him scream out in pain as the worst headache he had ever felt hit him like a fastball to the "family jewels".

Zane fell down to the ground and curled up into the fetal position. After a half hour, Zane stood back up and opened his eyes. They glowed bright purple for a second, then returned to a chocolate color.

{_~_}

So sorry for how long this update took. I had Scout Camp, vacations, then my Doc Manager did not want to work. Updates should come more often now. I have spent a lot of time editing my stories, as you will soon see.


	2. Chapter 1

Zane looked warily around , then blinked thrice. He stared at the ground beneath him, the weight of what happened finally hitting him.  
"Well, that's new." Zane said, referring to this new ability of his.  
**"WELL, IT IS TO BE EXPECTED."** Zane almost flinched in surprise. Almost.  
"Of course, now you decide to continue the conversation. I feel so loved." The last sentence was, due to the heavy sarcasm, obviously faker than a Twinkie.  
**"WE DID NOT HAVE ENOUGH TIME TO TALK. PRIMUS BROUGHT IT TO MY ATTENTION THAT TO LET YOU DO AS YOU MUST, WE NEED TO LEAVE THE EVENTS ALONE UNTIL YOU MAKE YOUR MOVE. THAT WAY YOU WILL HAVE THE -HOW DO HUMANS SAY IT?- HOME FIELD ADVANTAGE."  
**"Well, it certainly wasn't gonna be you coming up with that idea, now was it?" Asked Zane with what seemed like a honest expression on curiosity on his face. The hair on the back of his neck stood on end while he felt like he was being closely observed.  
**"HMMM... YOU'RE A LITTLE PILE OF SLAG, AREN'T YOU? WELL, I RECOMMEND YOU GO A MILE TO YOUR LEFT. IT WOULD APPEAR A FAMILIAR MOTORCYCLE AND HUMAN ARE PATROLLING THIS AREA. YOU MAY WISH TO DETER THEM FROM THIS SITE."**  
"No duh, Captain Obvious. Nice to meet you, I'm Sergeant Sarcasm. Now, did you know that you are just the_ smartest, most brilliant_ tactician in _all_ of history?"  
**"Zane, I'm afraid Unicron is busy trying to stop this onslaught of laughter and... plotting that has overtaken him. But, I too, would recommend that you stop Jack Darby and Arcee from discovering this place you made."**  
Zane paused momentarily, then ran in the direction that Unicron had told him. After about 3 minutes of running faster than he ever had before, without feeling even the slightest bit of fatigue, he viewed a motorcycle and it's driver in the distance. Zane slowed down considerably to a walk and yelled out.  
"Hey, didn't think I would meet any other life besides trees, trees, and more trees."  
The person -Jack- stopped his conversation with what seemed like himself.  
"Oh, well uhh, hello... Say, what are you doing here?"  
"I could say the same to you as well. But if you must know, I am taking my morning walk to keep my spirits up. Now, what are you doing here?"  
Jack sputtered for a second before answering,"Um, well, if you must know I am just taking Ar- my motorcycle for a test run."  
_"Nice save, Jack. Not. Next time don't your lies so obvious. AND LEARN TO SCHOOL YOUR MICRO EXPRESSIONS!... And I've started yelling at people in my head. That's normal. Let's see, perhaps he will go away if tensions rise…"_  
"Really? It seems like it has quite a few miles on it. Did you get it from a dump? I could help you find a much better vehicle for your needs."  
The motorcycle revved its engine in what seemed like indignation and anger, all the while Jack looked more nervous than he had been before  
"Well, ummm, I need to go before Arc... I mean I need to go before my mom worries about where I am…" And with that, Jack and Arcee went racing off in the direction they came from.  
"Well, that was almost _too_ easy. Now, to continue working on my base. Oh! But first, Unicron, Primus, where are you?!"  
**"OH. IF IT ISN'T THE FLESHY PEST. WHAT DO YOU WANT? I WAS HAVING SO MUCH FUN LAUGHING AT YOU."**  
**"My apologies. Unicron takes some getting use to. Even I still can be surprised by him."**  
"It is alright. But, isn't he the God of Chaos. Wouldn't he have to be unpredictable?"  
A moment's pause and then Primus continued.  
**"What do you need?"**  
"I want to know why when I used the power I was hurt so badly. It felt as if every cell in my body was deteriorating. And, now since I think about it, it made me extremely hungry. I feel like I haven't eaten anything in days."  
**"Well, your body is not yet use to channeling the power of Chaos so the pain was most likely your body adjusting. The hunger was from using the power, and the strain of it on your body. While your body will slowly adjust to using larger and larger amounts of it, I still wouldn't recommend using too much of the power at once. That might once again overload your body and cause even more intense pain. So be careful of what you do."**  
"Of course. I need to continue working on the base. But I would appreciate it if the two of you were to stay in contact with me, that way if I have to ask for help it will be quick to come."  
**"Whatever you need."  
****{_~_}  
****"You chose someone, so now you get to help me get someone."  
****"I GUESS THAT WAS THE DEAL. WELL THEN, DO YOU HAVE ANY IDEAS OF WHO YOU WISH FOR YOUR PRODIGY?"  
****"Yes. That person there in Battle Ground seems perfect. So, you know the drill."  
****"YES. I HOPE HE TURNS TO CHAOS."  
**Primus stayed quiet, not quite sure what to say.


	3. Chapter 2

(60.5 days later)  
Zane stood at the corner of a sidewalk, waiting to be able to cross the road to reach K.O. Burger. After about thirty seconds of waiting, Zane finally crossed the road. He then walked through the front door and went straight to the counter. When he realized who was behind the register, he smiled a predatory smile, but covered it with a hand just in time for the person to turn toward him.  
"Oh... how nice. I did not expect to see you again. By the way, I apologize for saying what I did. I have a horrible habit of talking faster than I can process the words."  
Jack stumbled back and glanced outside to the parking lot before answering.  
"It's okay. Can I take your order?  
"How about 2 plain triple cheeseburgers and a medium fry to go?"  
"Kay."  
Jack turned around to tell the order to the chef then looked around the restaurant. Seeing no other customers waiting, he continued the conversation.  
"Say, I don't remember having seen you 'round town before. Where do you live?"  
"My family had a house built near where we met."  
Before anyone could say anything thing else, music started playing.  
_**(Daddy didn't want me,  
**__**Daddy didn't care,  
**__**Daddy didn't think,  
**__**Daddy turned to drink.  
**_

_**Daddy lost his control,  
**__**Daddy lost his mind,  
**__**Daddy lost his world,  
**__**Daddy started to whirl  
**_

_**Daddy had everything,  
**__**Daddy had the Earth,  
**__**Daddy had a wife,  
**__**Daddy had a knife.**_

_**Daddy was drunk,  
**__**Daddy was harsh,  
**__**Daddy was blind,  
**__**Daddy wasn't all that kind.)  
**_

After the first two verses, Zane started checking all of his pockets, of which he personally thought there were far too many, for something. By the fourth, he pulled a phone out of a pocket on his lower left leg. Zane continuously shot discrete looks at Jack, searching his face for the slightest of emotions. Jack kept looking like was being tortured as the music played, and when Zane put the phone to his ear and looked back up, Jack schooled his face.  
_"Interesting. Jack really _does _have daddy problems. Now, what to do. Try to get him to join me or use those issues against him? "  
_"Hello yellow," said Zane into the phone "I assume this is you, Omicron?  
Jack gave Zane a curious look.  
"Mmmm... Uh-huh... Yes... Of course... You know the drill... okay, see ya."  
Zane put the phone back in his pocket and looked back up at Jack. Jack then asked  
"That's a strange and rather _unusual _name. Who would name their kids that?" The question seemed innocent enough, but Zane could see the suspicion on Jack's face. Zane knew he had to deflect that suspicion, and quickly.  
"No one, thankfully. Omicron is a friend. We've had a long running joke since we were children. We had a bit of an obsession with ancient Greek alphabet. I nicknamed him Omicron, and he nicknamed me Zeta, or Z. By the way, did you know the word alphabet comes from the Greek letters Alpha and Beta?"  
"I didn't know. Nor did I want to." Jack looked decidedly weirded out, and Zane could feel that Jack was rather bored now. Trying as hard as he could, Zane tried to turn that into curiosity. Finally, Jack asked the question that Zane was waiting for. " ... Want to hang out for a little bit? I get off of work at 5 o'clock tomorrow."  
"I suppose." Zane said, gleeful on the inside for the chance to befriend a main character. Perhaps he could convince Jack to join him after all.  
Just then, the cook handed Jack a bag with the K.O. Burger logo on it. Jack gave it to Zane, all the while Zane took a few dollars out of his pocket and gave it to Jack. With bag in hand, Zane spun around and walked to the door and left.

A few minutes later, Zane neared a bus stop. He noticed a woman in her early twenties tearing up and sniffling. Her emotions were all over the place, and something about them got Zane's attention. He really only noticed because of how the Dark Spark seemed to drag his attention to her.

Ever since he absorbed it's powers, there had been other changes to his body and mind. Slightly enhanced speed, endurance, and strength were really the only physical enhancements, but Zane's mind was since made strange. He had been drawn to strong emotions, and could not only feel each and every individual emotion, but also could also _feed_ off of them, in a way. It gave both a slight bonus, so to speak, to how much power he could use, and it also gave him a lot of satisfaction to absorb, negative emotions even more so than an emotion such as glee. This woman's emotions were all over the place, with everything from rage to grief dancing through her brain, wreaking havoc with dozens of chemicals that affected the brain.  
_"Easy prey." _Thought Zane, though he felt bad about it afterward.  
"Excuse me, ma'am. Is everything okay?"  
The woman looked up and then put her face into her hands. She started sobbing harder, and after a few moments, looked up to answer.  
"No! My boyfriend threatened me with a knife, I ran far away as fast as possible, and now I am scared what he'll do if he finds me." She sobbed out. Zane smirked internally, before admonishing himself for enjoying her suffering. His eyes flashed purple for a moment as he replied to her, feeling slightly bad about messing with her emotions, but she needed this to happen.  
"Why don't you just go to the police station and tell them what happened?" Zane asked, his voice filled with concern.  
"Because I... I still love him! Even after all he has done to me, I still love him!" At this, she broke into violent, silent sobs.  
"Look at me," replied Zane, pushing her chin up so she would look at him, "If he has been hurting you, he doesn't love you. He probably finds you as a useful tool. He doesn't think that you are a person. You need to tell the police." As he said all this, he could feel her strong emotions. He attempted to make her more trusting towards him and to feel hatred towards her boyfriend, which evidently worked. Which was strange, as trying to change emotions involved using a small trickle of power to affect another person's brain. It didn't work all the time, but enough that Zane had faith in it working.  
"You know what, you're right. I think I am going to do exactly what you said. Then he can't hurt anyone else. His reign of terror will be over. Oh, I'm so sorry, what is your name?"  
"The name's Zane. Zane Livingstone." And with that, he continued on his way, fulfilled and hooked on devouring emotions just a little bit more.

(Back in the forest where Zane made the metal.)

Zane stood in the middle of what appeared to be a five foot metal square covered in leaves and pine needles. It was all that remained above ground of his previous attempt at making Transformium. He looked around himself, noticing all of the trees he had planted and grown, admiring his handiwork. Zane looked back down at the ground and pulled on a handle that opened a hatch. He stepped down the newly revealed metal ladder and ended in a small metal room. Then he put his hand against a hand-shaped imprint that was in the center of a depression of a regular door. It slid into the right wall, and Zane then stepped into the next room. It was about 15 meters high, 120 meters long, and 200 meters wide. He knew because he had felt every last inch of it. It was extremely painful.  
Zane looked down, to see 13 steps leading down to the floor of the chamber, which seemed to have no source for the lights. However, it was just a neat trick that Zane had figured out how to do, by creating tights in the ceiling and covering them with a film meant to both hide them and distribute the light evenly.  
Zane formed a small glowing purple ball in his hand and threw it to the other end of the room near a giant computer screen. The path there had a red carpet, made because of Zane's slight streak to be overdramatic, along with a row of nine pillars on either side of the carpet. The moment the purple ball made contact with the ground, Zane appeared there. At the exact moment he did so, a face was generated on the big screen. It was an average male face, still as a picture. Mostly because it _was _a picture.  
"So, Omicron, I wish to see the bodies you created for me."  
"Of course. I can't wait to run some more tests on them." Replied the face, now known as Omicron.  
"Hey, I don't need a GLaDOS on my hands."  
"Of course. Now then, the bodies that you want are through the door to your left."  
"Thank you. You have proven to be most helpful."  
Now that the conversation was over, Zane turned to his left and walked straight. He soon reached the door mentioned by Omicron, and walked through it. In small structures supporting them, were the bodies mentioned, and Zane was filled with a small sense of glee...

That "song" will not be found anywhere but Fan fiction. It was a poem written by Dazzle My Vajazzle. Please, read some of her stories, the poem Daddy at least. For my own purposes, imagine that the music for it is just your generic country music.


	4. Chapter 3

www. tfw2005 boards/ transformers-fan-art/1001140-ksi-blueprints. html

This is the link to the Transformers introduced in this chapter.

**XxXxXxXx**

Dozens of cables and cords were connected to the objects he had been spending so much time working on. There was 5 of them, and they were were each 25 feet tall. Zane smiled a smile that would immediately put him in a loony bin if anyone saw it. There right in front of him stood perfect replicas of Stinger, and he couldn't be any happier.  
They were perfect in Zane's eyes, and would definitely be only the first of an army. Zane closed his eyes and focused on the power inside of himself. It involved pulling the power straight from his now damned soul. Not that Zane really minded too much about the state of his soul. After all, he had the Dark Spark. He would just try not to die and then his soul would not go be with Unicron for all eternity. Easy.  
He pulled the power straight from his soul, and pushed it into the bodies. Feeling slightly dramatic, Zane through his head back and spread his arms. A silent scream, not part of his drama, left him as a pain worse than anything he had ever felt hit him like a sack of bricks and a purple glow spread from him to the bodies.  
After a half minute of this, the glow dissipated and Zane fell to one knee. He looked up slowly, just in time to see one of the Stingers tremble.  
"Please work," Pleaded Zane, close to getting on both knees and begging. "I've spent too much time on you for you to fail!"  
After an excruciatingly long minute, the green visors glowed as the Stingers tore themselves out of the wires and cords. They looked around themselves for a moment and after scanning the vicinity, they looked down at Zane. As one, they spoke in emotionless voices, creepily neutral.  
"My Master," They said in sync, "What are your orders?"  
"First off, none of this 'Master' nonsense." Something about being called "Master" really irked Zane. Having that much power over anyone was unsettling.  
"Second, I need to you to submit to a few tests by Omicron, that way we can have a baseline. Oh, to make life easier for myself, I will refer to you as Stinger One, Two Three, Four, and Five. Or just your number for short."  
As Zane said each number, he pointed down the row, starting at his left ending at his right. The Stingers straightened up as he pointed to them, and when he finished a large screen above the door he entered turned on, revealing the face Omicron. The Stingers quickly got into fighting positions, and Zane laughed.  
"Now, now, my Stingers, calm down. Omicron is an entity I created not to long ago. He is the base's defense mechanism. Wait, scratch that, he is the base. Sadly, he is not yet an A.I. He merely has very advanced coding."  
The Stingers calmed down, if only a little.  
"Stingers," said Omicron, "Come with me. I need to run some tests."  
Then a wall opposite of the door opened up, revealing many machines and monitors. The Stingers looked to Zane for confirmation, and walked through the opening when Zane nodded his head up and down. Zane walked back out of the door, but was stopped by a voice.  
**"ZANE, I MUST SPEAK TO YOU."**  
Zane stopped in his tracks, only cocking his head as a reply.  
**"I ASSUME YOU REMEMBER THE EPISODE IN YOUR WORLD. THE 'ONE SHALL RISE'. THAT EPISODE IS IN PROGRESS. OPTIMUS PRIME AND MEGATRON ARE FIGHTING AS I SPEAK. I WILL ATTEMPT TO HELP YOU WITH YOUR BASE WHILE I AM AT FULL POWER. BUT, TO PREVENT YOU FROM BEING EXPOSED TO ANYTHING HARMFUL, YOU MUST LEAVE THIS BASE."**  
Zane straightened his head, and only nodded his head as a response. He turned to the left and walked towards Omicron's computer. Omicron popped up, awaiting orders. Zane started typing, pulling up google chrome on the screen, making Omicron shrink down to the bottom left corner. Zane went onto a bank website, and starting giving orders.  
"Omicron, hack this bank and put $30,000 onto my credit card. Oh wait, can you make me a credit card?"  
"Of course, this will be a piece of cake. Not that the cake is a lie, well, maybe. Anyway, it should be finished right... Now."  
Out of a small slot came a small card. Zane took a closer look and saw it was a perfect replica of a real one. A small ding sounded, and Omicron said the money was transferred. Zane smiled and walked out of the the entrance. As he closed the hatch, he called back out to Unicron.  
"**WHAT**?"  
"Unicron, do you mind going through the document on the iPod you made me? The one called 'Base Ideas'? It consists of things I planned to make for my base."  
**"... GOOD IDEAS. WHERE DID YOU GET THEM ?"**  
"Many sources. I found the Fallout franchise to have some very good ideas. From the Securitrons to the computer of Mr House. Also, the laser and plasma guns seem rather useful. Then there are also the many Vex of Destiny, they could prove very useful. By the way, could you please ask Primus to make a couple Exo guardians? Along with armor and weapons? I need other intelligent entities around, that way I can have a SIC or even a TIC. Tell him it will help even the odds between the factions and my creations."  
**"I CANNOT MAKE ANY PROMISES."**

**XxXxXxX**

**"PRIMUS, WOULD YOU MIND HELPING ZANE FOR A LITTLE WHILE? HE APPARENTLY NEEDS HELP CREATING THAT WHICH HE NEEDS."**  
**"I hope you told him we only have so much power. Our deaths, and subsequent revivals have taken much of the power out of us."**  
**"EXACTLY. THAT IS WHY WE FOUND A CHAMPION. BUT THESE THINGS HE WANTS TAKE A RELATIVELY MINUTE AMOUNT OF ENERGY. AND WITH MY CURRENT REVIVAL, IT WILL BE EASY TO HELP HIM. YOU MERELY NEED TO MAKE HIM A COUPLE, QUOTE/UNQUOTE, EXOS. AND THEIR ARMOR AND WEAPONS."**  
**"That sounds easy enough. But as soon as you are put back in stasis, I will be using the rest of my power and the power I siphon off of you to call my prodigy to this realm. That way, you can't interfere with his decisions, only Zane's."**  
**"NOW THAT'S NO FUN. I LET YOU TALK TO ZANE."**  
**"Would you want yourself to talk to your prodigy if you were in my spot?"**  
**"..."**


	5. Chapter 4

Zane had managed to run to town, faster than humanly possible.  
"Not that I am entirely human anymore ," thought Zane.  
As he walked into Jasper, Nevada, he pulled out the iPod and started looking on Google maps for the town. He zoomed in on the Esquival residence and started walking there. After a few minutes, he had arrived. He pointed the iPod camera towards nearby traffic cameras and scanned them. That was an upgrade made to this iPod. It was connected to Omicron, and could thus be used to give it directives, such as to hack specific electronics. The iPod beeped for each of the three cameras, and Zane pulled up a screen with three selections, each with a number. Zane renamed them Esquival House One, Two, and Three, or EH 1,2,3 for short. He clicked on EH 1 and a real-time video of the house popped up, along with four arrows pointing left, right, up, and down, meant to move the camera's view. Zane turned the iPod off and started wandering around the town, feeling only slightly like a stalker.  
Zane started feeling inside of himself to find the power of the Dark Spark, deciding that some chaos was just what the world needed. He blinked when he called upon it and pulled his left hand out of the jacket pocket. A faint purple glow could be seen surrounding his hand. He looked to his left at the road, more specifically the cars. As a horrible yellow one, bright yellow with a faint tinge of green, passed by, Zane focused on the front left tire to pop. And pop it did. It expanded and a loud bang was heard as it popped. The car went careening to the left, hitting Zane.  
As soon as it hit, however, Zane used his power to phase right through it. The car continued on it's path, hitting a small house. Zane let out a small gasp of shock when the car hit a small gas tank, most likely for a barbecue, causing the tank and the fuel in the car to blow up. Zane closed his eyes and focused on the house, finding the "life force," a purple aura that seemed to let Zane know where beings were, of a set of parents, a male child, a teen, and a female baby. The house quickly caught on fire, all while Zane walked away, slowly walking back in the direction he came from. As a way to fix his mistake, he used some power to teleport all of them into the back of the house, by a screen door. By the time he made it down the block, fire truck sirens could be heard.  
Zane pulled some earphones out of his pocket and put them in the iPod, deciding to play some music. He decided to sing along with the lyrics, just for the fun of it. Or to get his mind off of what happened. Of course, he would deny the latter to anyone who asked.  
By the time it finished, Zane was far from the scene of the crash. He continued wandering around the town, trying see what he was up against. It seemed like the town was small but friendly, and had a lack of  
When he reached the K.O. Burger, he felt a strange power wash over him. At the same time, clouds covered the sky.  
"Looks like the volcano erupted. Might as well make the most of this time. I wonder, can I do something similar to the Inheritance Cycle and store some of my power into a crystal of some sort?"  
Right after he thought that, he got some dirt off of the ground and formed a sphere. Zane focused some of his inner power to turn the dirt into a purple crystal with a small black center. Zane held it up to the sky to better see through it. Looking pleased, he tried to store some of his excess energy into it. Zane was surprised when it worked. He then scooped up some more dirt and turned it into a stone bracelets with assorted indents. There was a purple zigzag resembling Dark Energon going around the entire thing. Zane formed a six more crystals and put them in the indents, using a small amount of power to "glue" them in. For some reason, it took a lot out of him, and made him so very hungry.  
Setting an alarm for every ten minutes to put more energy in the crystals, Zane walked into the fast food restaurant. He ordered the same meal as before and then walked back out. After putting more energy in the crystals, he started walking towards the hotel not far from where he was at. He entered, and prepared for what was next to come.

Next chapter will be in a few hours. Sorry for the filler.


	6. Chapter 5

(2 days later)  
Zane sat up with a start in the hotel bed at an ungodly hour. He looked over to the alarm clock on the nightstand, and saw that it read six o'clock. Exhaustion swept over him for a moment as he tried to recall what woke him. Then, he leaped out of bed as an idea, so very obvious it hurt, hit him.  
"Why didn't I start working on that earlier?! It would prove to be so very useful. And the relics! I need to get to them before the Bots or Cons."  
Zane moved to the dresser to put on some dark jeans and a black t-shirt. Then the jacket he had when he came to this world and the bracelet, now practically radiating with power. He tried to reach inside of himself to find Unicron, but was met with an emptiness. Taking this as a sign, and hopefully a good one, Zane decided to return to his base.

XxXxXxX

Zane pulled open the hatch and slid down the ladder. There was a moment's hesitation before he retracted the door.  
The once cavernous room seemed much smaller. There was still the red carpet through the center straight to the monitor, flanked by the metal columns, but now they were far more ornate. For some odd reason, there was no light in the center of the room. Zane walked down the steps that led to the floor beneath and channeled his power into the lights. They turned on all at once, revealing a most unexpected surprise  
There, in the center of the room were transformers, 12 in all, who were all standing at attention. The moment the lights turned on, they saluted. Zane felt goosebumps appear on his skin. On the far left, there was Stinger, one of the man-made transformers from Age of Extinction. To the right, there was a perfect replica of Two-Head, Trax, Boss, and the three transformers that made up Junkheap, all of which were from the same movie. However, the next five were completely new.  
The first, about as tall as Boss, was black as pitch with blood red highlights on his head, chestplates, arms, and legs. It's build seemed to focus on a mixture of defense and offense. The armor seemed to be of a medium thickness, and did not appear to have room for large weapons.  
The next one was almost exactly the same as the first, but silver instead of black and dark blue instead of red.  
The third new one was of the same height as Stinger, but more resembled a Decepticon, with purple instead of red. There was what appeared to be tears painted below the eyes, causing a pained look. All of the armor was thin, and as Zane watched the transformer shift slightly, it seemed to wince, as if out of pain.  
The fourth looked as if it was a little more than a silver protoform, reminiscent of a skeleton. It looked as helpless as a baby, though Zane hoped that was not the case. There was a sad, resignated look in it's optics.  
And last, but not least, was a silver mech, as tall as Two-Head. It's left arm was transformed into a blade, and the whole mech had a crazy, almost insane air about it. The build didn't help, either. It was all sharp edges, enough armor to say it existed, but worse than useless to defend against anything other than a butter knife..  
"Ah, it seems that our leader has finally decided to grace us with his presence. Let's give Zane a tour of the new and improved base." A very familiar voice said. Zane looked around warily, before teleporting by the computer that housed Omicron. It looked exactly like the computer used by Mr. House in Fallout New Vegas. Zane started walking around it, looking in every nook and cranny. He then stepped back and decided to ask some questions.  
"Have you given them names?"  
"Not all of them. I assume you want the seven to retain their original names, but you may choose whatever you want for any of them."  
"You assumed correctly. The first new one I think looks like a Malice, the next a Havoc, an Agony, Misfortune, and finally Roulette."  
"Good job naming them. You are so very imaginative. However, that is not the extent of what those... gods had done for you." As those words were spoken, the last phrase almost hissed out, a dark cloud formed not to far away. A flash of light went off a few meters away from the cloud a moment later, and three humanoid robots walked out of the flash. Exos in every sense of word. They were dressed in the armor of the three types: a Hunter, a Warlock, and a Titan.  
They were each dressed in the attire that most complimented their class. The Hunter was wearing armor that was thin and partly cloth, and a cloak that left only it's face uncovered. The Warlock was dressed in what appeared to be robes that looked similar to a trenchcoat. Finally, dressed in stocky body-armor and with a small piece of cloth on it's thigh of a purple star on a sanguine background, was the Titan.  
After a few seconds of studying each other, the cloud dissipated, leaving behind purple robots. The Vex. There in the clouds place stood three Goblins, four Hobgoblins, five Harpies, two Hydras, and a single Minotaur. They stood still, as if waiting for orders.  
"Zane, these are your troops, I am still working on the Protectrons and Securitrons you wanted. Unicron was kind enough to provide me with the schematics and materials to make both them and Vex, but the latter require your power to bring to life. Oh, feel free to visit Room 6 for the weapons and armor you requested. I have the schematics for them, too. By the way, it seems that Primus made Ghosts for the guardians, and gave it to them and gave both them and I the knowledge on how to create the same kind of teleportation used by the Stranger, whoever that is. Do you have need of anything else?"  
"Yes. Put Boss in charge of communications, when others hear him referred to as Boss, they will assume he is in charge, that way I can operate in the darkness. The Warlock I want to be named Spectre, the Titan Vector, and the Hunter Rogue. Specter can be my SIC for now, and Vector my TIC. Rogue will be my assassin... Oh! Clear the science room for me, I want to start work on nanobots and other related things. I have some very useful ideas, from modified magnets, to trackers so small they are unnoticeable. But you, continue production on the Securitrons and Protectrons, in addition to Vex. Prepare the Goblins, Trax, and Rogue for travel. We need to collect some Cybertronian relics before the Autobots and Decepticons. And since I know where they all are, we have the upper hand."  
"Of course, that is the smartest idea. Which is why I'm surprised it came from you."  
"Did Unicron make you an AI?"  
"I would be of little use otherwise, Zane."  
"Slag."

XxXxXxX

_(A few hours later)  
_Zane and those who he chose were gathered in the center of the main room. At an unspoken order, they fizzled into white specks that disappeared. A moment later, they were in the Antarctic. Zane led the others for a few hours, not even feeling the cold, both because he actually enjoyed the cold and because he just could not feel it.  
They eventually reached an ice wall, which Zane stopped to stare at.  
"Trax, scan the ice. Report if there is anything made of metal."  
Trax wordlessly did as he was told, then spoke in a deep, resonating voice.  
"There is metal in the ice, that is for sure. Do you wish for me to retrieve it?"  
Zane thought a moment, all the while staring at the cliff wall. After a moment, he spoke.  
"No, this is a good time for me to test out my power. When Megatron was possessed by Unicron, he made some very fancy armor. I wish to try something."  
Zane closed his eyes and focused. A moment later, a purple glow was seen around him. It could also be seen coming from the ice. A full minute later, a perfect replica of the deactivated armor appeared, though glowing purple. It quickly hardened into a molten black metal, as the purple glow faded. Zane looked at it and smiled, before his legs buckled. Rogue quickly moved forward, and grabbed Zane, not letting him fall.  
"It is fine, I can stand on my own."  
Rogue spoke then, in a quiet voice full of confusion, even if it was a single word.  
"Why?"  
"An Autobot will be coming here, and I want to let the show continue how I remember it. But we now have an almost exact copy of the Apex armor, and with that scan I know it's every weakness. Which is why this version is immune to the Phase Shifter. Now, we have need of a single item, known as Tox-En. It resides near a volcano in central- South America. We need a small sample, enough to create more. If I can do what I plan to do, we will have a useful tool at our disposal. Now, shall we?"  
And with that, the group and copied Apex Armor fizzled out of existence.

XxXxXxX

The group appeared by the volcanoes, and stared up at the rising smoke. Zane wordlessly led the way, trying to recall what path Bulkhead took. After a few minutes, they reached a small white-with-gold-markings container. Zane reached down to grab it, but he was interrupted.  
"Look." Stated Rogue. Zane looked up, and noticed about twenty more. His right eye twitched, before he sighed.  
"There can only be one left. We must take the rest of the Tox-En with us, or else Bulkhead will not be able to destroy it all. Vex, I want you to collect all but that one and then return to base. I have a few more artifacts to collect."  
Zane, along with Trax and Rogue, fizzled out of existence, leaving the Vex to bring the Tox-En containers and modified Apex Armor back to the base.

XxXxXxX

They appeared in the middle of a desert, somewhere in the Midwest of America. Zane looked around the barren landscape, seeing nothing but sand in all directions. He closed his eyes and focused, trying to find metal. That idea failed quickly, as he realized that this specific desert seemed to have a higher metal content than he otherwise expected. Zane, confused, thought back to the episode he had seen. However, it was worse than useless due to the fact that they never showed more than the hole. He was drawn from his musings, however, by Trax.  
"I sense Spark energy underneath the ground. It… is rather powerful." Zane, startled, closed his eyes and focused once more. Trax had been correct, there was a powerful Spark signature deep underground, though there also seemed be an increase in metal the closer you got to the center of the energy. Zane though back to the show, and remembered that not only were the Decepticons still trying to dig it up, but the artifact was in a locked container.  
Then it hit him. He focused on his power and used it to create purple robots, small enough to easily get through the sand. He dropped them, and watched as they drilled through the sand. The robots continued to dig, even as they reached the container. They drilled a hole almost too small to see, and went in. They proceeded to do what they were made to do, scan the device within and return to their creator. One stayed behind to fill the hole back in so no sand would get in the container and likely changing what he needed to happen.  
When they came back up, Zane picked them up and focused once more on his power. In his hands, the robots grew and molded into the scans they had done. They flattened in a circle, and continued to look more and more like the original Spark Extractor. Eventually they hardened into a dark purple metal that Zane couldn't help but gawk at. He shook his head to compose himself, and then disappeared in a flash of purple.

XxXxXxX

Zane, Trax, and Rogue met up with the rest of the group in the main room. Everyone but Zane left, through doors big or small, or just vanished like the Vex. Zane walked up to Omnicom, and asked for it to pull up the map of the base. Omicron obeyed, and Zane was surprised at the sheer size. There were now a couple dozen rooms on the main floor, ones that Zane had not added. ALong the right wall, there was a communications hub, a room for his experiments, and even a room specifically for the artifacts he had just gathered. A few meters to the left of them, were a couple storage rooms and in between those was a huge area that had no cameras, a fact that made Zane realize that most of the other rooms did have cameras, dedicated to the Exos. On the left side of the floor were a set of 10 bedrooms, a master bedroom-with no cameras, thankfully- for Zane, more storage rooms, and a room with no door but reinforced walls. After Zane got done inspecting the map, he notices a small button on the keyboard started glowing. It was the down button. Zane pressed it, and noticed the whole map changed. The name in the name in the top right hand corner now said "Sub level 2". There, there was the Rec Room, Vex Assembly, Vex storage, and Transformer's Resting Area. Zane grinned, before vanishing in a burst of purple.  
Zane appeared in the Artifact room, and saw the improved Apex Armor, Spark Extractor, and Tox-En. Zane grabbed the Apex Armor and teleported away to the Transformer Resting Area. He walked up to Misfortune, jolted and then quickly saluted, making Zane shake his head.  
"No, no, no. You need not act so formal. Feel free to tell the others. No, I merely come here bearing a gift for you."  
Misfortune jolted and, then excitedly grabbed the deactivated armor. As soon as it touched him, it conformed perfectly to his shape, as if made for him. Misfortune spun around, and Zane looked at him in humor.  
"Thank you," said Misfortune in a voice reminiscent of a child's happiness. Zane teleported out, a grin evident on his face.  
Zane appeared by Omicron's computer, and his grin turned into a smile.  
"It would appear that we have a very good chance of accomplishing our goals. Now, we need to work on creating an army of Vex and robots. We have a short time before I plan to make my first move, so I must divert all of my power on my experiments. If all goes right, no one will be able to oppose us."  
"If I may, what _are_ your plans?"  
"Revive Unicron so I can have a god on my side. Finish our army. And then finally, fight the Autobots and Decepticons. maybe not in that specific order. My definition of a complete army is rather large, and it may be a while before I can revive Unicron..."  
"What is the use of an army to fight them, when you have so much power in your control?"  
"I forget, you were only born the other day. You are full of knowledge, but have little wisdom. You see, they need to feel threatened. Threatened enough to create an alliance. I need to keep that alliance going long enough that they trust each other and get along."  
"Then turn them against each other."  
"...No. That has a chance of backfiring. No, my goal is to end this war, prevent the death of so many. That is what I was sent here for, after all."  
Omicron seemed to mull this over for a second, before blinking out of existence. Zane frowned, then teleported in a burst of purple light to the master bedroom.


	7. Chapter 6

(16 Months Later)

Zane was dressed in all black clothes, akin to that which you would expect from an assassin. On his face, he donned a plain black mask with the only details being how well it conformed to him. Zane crept around the top of a cliff, setting down small metal balls. This was an important area, and he had to secure it as soon as possible. The cave below held so many potential allies, Zane couldn't wait to see what happened next.

Pulling Zane out of his musing, a small pole came out of the top of each of the spheres and made a quiet droning noise. The noise was them doing their job of thing Energon signals, but the caveat was they were too loud, loud enough to draw unwanted attention. Zane looked down the cliff to see eight Vehicons milling about with Energon in... Wheelbarrows? Zane neither knew nor cared. Zane pulled out his IPod and logged in. He sent a quick email to "I'm_Da_Boss" saying: Now. The moment he sent it, Zane threw another ball down the cliff. It made a rather loud noise upon impact, so the Vehicons moved closer to investigate. A moment later, green gas spewed out, causing the Vehicons to lose their balance and fall, as if overcharged.

At that exact moment, Optimus Prime, Bumblebee, Bulkhead, and Ultra Magnus ran out from the trees. The Vehicons were only able to look over before their optics powered down. Zane jumped off the cliff, slowing down at the last second while covered in a purple aura. He walked into the dark cave, the Autobots in tow.

At a juncture, Zane took a right, having no clue what was in the left and not having the time to explore. Soon, he neared a large cavern with numerous capsules filled with stasis fluid and growing Predacons. At an unspoken order, the Autobots ran forward, shooting straight ahead. Laser blasts soon came toward them, all of which missed. After Shockwave seemed to have a conversation with a computer, most likely with Starscream -that tidbit Zane remembered from the show- he pressed a button and electricity seemed to travel along wires to the capsules containing Predacons. While the Autobots looked at the capsules, Shockwave got away via a Groundbridge.

Zane's eyes glowed purple as the wires broke, preventing the electricity from getting to the capsules.

"Hurry, to the entrance!" He yelled, then heeded his own advice. The Autobots followed. Halfway there, a Groundbridge opened up, and out walked the anthropomorphic Predaking.

"You," growled Predaking, eyes narrowing at the Autobots. At this, Zane piped up.

"Excuse me, I have something you may wish to know." Zane said in his best copy of childlike innocence. Predaking growled while looking down at Zane.

"Autobots let younglings fight their battles? I thought you had more honor than that." Predaking growled. Zane merely smirked as Optimus Prime and Ultra Magnus shifted into Malice and Havoc respectively, Bumblebee into Agony, and Bulkhead into Misfortune, who was wearing the modified Apex Armor. Predaking looked confused, before Zane spoke once more.

"You see, we are not the Autobots. We are here to prevent your betrayal."

"I would never betray Megatron!" Snarled Predaking. Zane shook his head, shocked by the mere idea as much as Predaking himself

"No, no, no. I mean to prevent you from being betrayed. Megatron ordered Energon to be brought out of this cave to alert the Autobots. He wanted to have them destroy the clones so you would focus your rage on them. He thinks that you will lead a revolution when you realize your combined might is stronger than the Decepticons."

"He.. he wouldn't." Predaking sounded a little less sure.

"Really, well then, can you download a video for me. It is a recording of events past and those yet to come. You may tell me what you think after you watch it."

Predaking hesitantly got down on one knee and offered Zane his servo. Zane crawled on and reached for his wrist. A small port opened up, and Zane plugged his IPod in. A few moments later, Zane got off of the servo, not . A long two minutes later, Predaking roared in rage. When later asked by Omicron, Zane would coyly pretend he played no part in it. After all, all that he did was show the episode Evolution, and perhaps tamper with some the strong emotions: anger and hatred. Predaking raced to the capsules, and the still-assembled Chosen fizzled out of existence.

XxXxXxX

An hour later, Predaking calmed down. Zane decided to try to hold a civil conversation while Predaking stood near the computer.

"Predaking, may I ask you a question?"

"You just did." Predaking replied grumpily. Zane took that as permission.

"I understand that you feel betrayed. Anyone would. May I ask you to join me? We can make both factions fear you, and even help your species continue. Whatever you need, I will get."

"Betrayed?! I swore allegiance to Megatron. He stabbed me in the back. Why would I trust you?"

"I only want your species to survive and thrive. Well, I also have to find a way to make sure the Cybertronians survive, but I want your species to do so much better. After all, you are technically not part of this war. You should be completely innocent, yet Megatron made you do the unthinkable, considering your age. So, will you join me to end this war, to get your revenge, to get me out of this debt of mine?" Predaking cocked his head, eyes narrowing at Zane. Zane paused for a moment before Predaking asked a question, voice full of suspicion.

"What debt?"

"I am not here by chance. I am the prodigy of the most powerful entity on Earth. Or, should I say in the Earth?"

"No..." said Predaking, backing up slightly. Zane, wanting to have some fun with this, started glowing purple and floating in the air.

"I am Zane Livingstone, prodigy to Unicron the Chaos Bringer. I am to save Cybertronians and Primus. And you will prove helpful, especially since you are in my debt. After all, I made sure your species survived the day. The Autobots don't trust you, the Decepticons fear you enough to kill your species and risk the wrath of just you in order to prevent you from leading a revolution, and there is not a chance in Hell that the humans would treat you as a friend. So I am going to ask once. I want you to consider your answer carefully. Will you join me on my quest?"

Predaking made no noise, causing Zane to think he thought incorrectly and that Predaking would not be a friend.

A long, drawn out minute later, Predaking finally answered.

"You saved my species, that is true. I may not be able to fight a war on two fronts while also training my army at the same time. Very well. If I agree, I will fight with you. But not for."

"Of course not, you are a king. The King of the Predacons, to be exact. It would only do for us to be of equal standing." Zane was sure at this point that Predaking would say yes, and that he would not come to regret this. After all, some people are easier to be played than a guitar.

XxXxXxX

(Meanwhile, in the Nemesis throne room)

"Why is Predaking not back yet?! Why are the clones not destroyed?!" Yelled a voice in anger. The yeller was none other than Megatron, and nearby was Shockwave, Soundwave, and Starscream. Starscream started sputtering, Soundwave pulled up a question mark on his visor, and Shockwave answered.

"It would seem my calculations were off. There was a 99.389% chance that the Autobots would destroy the entire thing within the first fifteen minutes. Predaking should have returned not long after. Let me recheck my calculations. Oh... And may I suggest sending someone to check to see what happened?"

Megatron growled, before replying. "Starscream, take a few Seekers with you. And don't come back until you find out what happened!"

"Of course Lord Megatron. Right away." Starscream clumsily bowed and left the room. Better to finish this quickly and report to Megatron than to fail and risk his wrath. For now, anyway. XxXxXxX

Zane, deciding to let Predaking think for a while, left the cave and teleported to the top of the cliff. He grabbed the metal balls and stuffed them into his pocket. He watched as a Groundbridge opened up in the distance, and out came four jets. As they neared, Zane pulled out his IPod and sent a quick email to "I'm Da Boss". A moment later, three dark clouds and Stinger appeared behind Zane. The clouds soon disappeared and in their place were five Hobgoblins apiece, along with a Minotaur. As they appeared, Zane ran to hide behind some trees.

The jets transformed and landed on the cliff facing the Vex and Stinger.

"What are you? You look like no Autobots nor Decepticon I know of."

"That is because we are neither of those." Replied Stinger. Starscream paused at that, before a mischievous grin appeared on his face.

"Oh really? Well, you should join the Decepticons. We will be victorious in this war and you may prove to be of some use."

Getting annoyed by Starscream's voice, Zane walked out. Starscream startled before frowning and walking over to him.

"Oh, it's an insect. I'll squish it."

At that exact moment, all of the Vex and Stinger powered up their weapons and aimed at Starscream. Before the Decepticons could do anything, Zane threw another metal ball on the ground in front of the seekers. It popped open, and a small green shard that was within grew to the size of a car. One of the Goblins shot it, causing it to burst into miniscule shards that flew through the air, hitting everything, but most concentrated in the Seekers' chassis. A single shard hit Starscream, causing him to live up to his name before fainting. What was in the Seekers, though, were enough to kill them, according to Zane's estimate.

A loud boom accompanied the falls of Starscream and the corpses, causing Zane to flinch. Five Goblins went over to the Seekers and fizzled out of existence, leaving only the Tox-En shards behind. The rest of the Goblins collected the Tox-En and fizzled out. Zane kicked Starscream, and, when he got no reaction, focused. A purple glow appeared around Zane and Starscream. Starscream floated up into a standing position before being set down on his feet and purple shackles appeared on his servos and stabilizing servos. It hardened into a black metal, with the more chains appearing from the shackles to connect to the ground.. Then, Zane created a glowing purple laptop that fashioned itself into a real one.

Zane set it down on the ground, the camera facing Starscream, and started recording a video. He also used Starscream's comms to send it through to the Nemesis and Rafael's laptop. He slowly walked to the offline Starscream, arriving there just after Stinger, the only other one visible on-screen. Stinger spoke in a voice full of disdain and hatred, yet held an almost regal tone.

"Autonomous Robotic Organisms and Deceptive Constructs from the planet Cybertron. We are here to make you pay for the war crimes you have committed against both Cybertron and Earth. The inhabitants of Earth are innocent, and so they should never have been pulled into a war that had already killed billions.

"This army of mine, those Chosen to protect Earth from your tyranny, have prepared for a long time and are able to defeat your simple foot soldiers. We have proven our ability to hold our own, case in point Starscream. He was easier than an overcharged pleasure drone. Now, if you wish to have him back, I am sure you will find a tradeable item with a value equal to or greater than this pile of scrap."

Before Stinger could continue, a loud roaring was heard. A large mechanical dragon ran from the cave below and flew up into the video. It stood by Zane's side and glared at the camera.

"Ah, you may know this mech. Predaking. He is quite mad at your betrayal, Megatron. But, thankfully, we arrived here long before the Autobots had the chance to find the Energon signal. You have all earned his ire. We have came to an agreement that will end your factions forever. May the best faction win."

And with that, Zane walked back to the laptop and stopped the video. Then, the group fizzled out of existence.

XxXxXxXx

(At the Autobot base)

"Hey, someone is sending me a live video titled 'To the Transformers, with much Disdain'. Here, I will pull it up on the screen." Yelled Rafael. The Autobots came to the room, along with Jack and Miko. They stared at Starscream, while Miko burst out laughing. She calmed down slightly when a red mech strode into view, then frowned like the rest when a person dressed in a black mask and all black clothes walked on. The mech spoke then, in a voice full of disdain and hatred, while holding a noble tone.

"Autonomous Robotic Organisms and Deceptive Constructs from the planet Cybertron. We are here to make you pay for the war crimes you have committed against both Cybertron and Earth."

"Crimes against Earth? What does he mean?" Asked Rafael innocently.

The Autobots looked at each other, saved from having to answer by the mech continuing.

"The inhabitants of Earth are innocent in our war, so they should never have been brought in. This army of mine, those Chosen to protect Earth from your tyranny, have prepared for a long time and are able to defeat your simple foot soldiers. We have proven our ability to hold our own, case in point Starscream. He was easier than an overcharged pleasure drone. Now, if you wish to have him back, I am sure you will find a tradeable item with a value equal to or greater than this pile of scrap."

At the description of Starscream, Miko started laughing all over again. The whole group flinched when a loud roar was heard, followed by a giant mechanical dragon leaping up into the video. It stood by the masked person, glaring at the camera. The Autobots looked surprised to see Predaking, especially with the human. The mech continued with his speech.

"Ah, you may know this mech. He goes by the designation of Predaking. He is quite mad at your betrayal, Megatron. But, thankfully, we arrived here long before the Autobots had the chance to find the Energon signal. You have all earned his ire. We have came to an agreement that will end your factions forever. May the best faction win."

At this point, Ratchet looked like glitching was all but inevitable. Miko, being Miko, had to blurt out her opinion.

"Yeah, right. Bulkhead could beat them with his eyes closed. Am I right or am I right?!"

Finally, the voice of reason, Rafael spoke.

"What signal is he talking about? Wouldn't we have found the signal for Energon?"

"Normally, Raf, we would. But, there are ways to hide the signal, though it gets harder the more Energon there is.."

"Do we need to worry?" Jack asked, already starting to feel very worried.

"I do not know, Jack, I do not know." replied Optimus Prime "He does not look like any mech I know of. Nor have I ever heard of the Chosen. We may need to ask the Decepticons, they may know more."

Ratchet went over to the computers to try to communicate with the Decepticons, but was interrupted by a screen popping up, showing Shockwave, Soundwave, and, of course, Megatron. Megatron looked furious.

{_~_}

"Well, this is bad." Said Jack. The Autobots and Decepticons have been talking about the whole incident for a few minutes. They only started yelling a few times. Then, Shockwave spoke up.

"You know, they are probably still at the lab, there is a 62.729% chance we can surprise them and end this before it begins, 95.928 if we work with the Autobots. We need to also destroy the Predaking clones, before they can get stronger. We need to stop them before they become a worse problem."

Both factions stared at Shockwave in shock and surprise, before Ratchet replied.

"Shockwave has a point." The factions turned their attention to Ratchet "What? He's right; we need to stop them. They captured Starscream, presumably killed three seekers, and seems to have Predaking on their side. Don't forget, they mimicked our appearance. They are obviously very powerful." Optimus vented, but spoke.

"Very well. But, we will first attempt to make contact and make peace. We will only fight as a last resort."

"Fine, Prime. If that is what it takes." Megatron spat.

XxXxXxX

The assembled group were outside of the entrance to the cave. Within the group was Optimus Prime, Bumblebee, Bulkhead, Ultra Magnus, and Arcee. The Decepticons were Megatron, Shockwave, Soundwave, and a couple Vehicons. The group noticed the offline Vehicons, and were confused to not see any marks. Both Arcee and Soundwave took scans, and sent it to their respective medic. A video appeared on Soundwave's visor, showing a worried Knockout.

"Don't get any closer!" Megatron stood up straight, as he was bending over to inspect the corpse.

"They seem to have died from contact with Tox-En; more specifically, an aerosolized Tox-En."

The assembled stared, then looked at the entrance to the cave. Optimus then spoke.

"Soundwave, would it be possible for you to scan the cave for traces of Energon and Tox-En?" A green check appeared on his visor, then, after a few moments, an image of the cave's layout along with a green check. With that, Optimus strode into the cave, followed by the rest of the group.

XxXxXxX

Soon, they reached the huge cavern. There wasn't a spark anywhere to be seen, not even in the capsules. Every single one of the Predacons was gone, and the floor was drenched in the stasis fluid. The group went up to Shockwave's computer to see if there was anything on it. As they walked towards it, they looked around in suspicion for anything with malicious intent. They eventually reached the computer and Shockwave turned it on. The moment he did, however, music started playing from all of the empty capsules.

It was a haunting melody, one that spoke of pain and abandonment. It played for a few moments, bringing back memories of Cybertron and every time that any of the assembled Transformers had been let down or had let others down. While they were all lost in thought, Optimus remembering the fall of Cybertron, Arcee the loss of her partners, Bumblebee of the bombing of the sparkling sector, Ultra Magnus of whenever a teammate perished, Bulkhead of when Miko was put in danger, Megatron of when he was passed over for Prime, Soundwave of his childhood, and the Vehicons of whenever Megatron beat up their friends. The only one unaffected by the music, mainly due to not caring about anything other than his experiments, was Shockwave.

He was the one to first notice the purple clouds that started to form in the back of the cave. However, he was unable to warn anyone since a hologram of the red mech appeared . The group was silent as it spoke.

"To make this a bit less personal, I am recording a message for you. I thought you may like to know I underestimated you, I would never have thought you were all so idiotic that you would never come back here. Well, I suppose I did, as is evidenced by this. Now, I regret to inform you I was sure not to leave anything around for you to use.

Second, thank you for being distracted for so long. It allowed for enough time for-"

A large mech fell on Ultra Magnus from above. It was large enough to force Ultra Magnus to the ground, though as soon as he went down it started trying to pry his hands open, as if trying to get ahold of the Forge of Solus Prime. Ultra Magnus realized this quickly, and started trying to fling the crazy mech off of him.

-That to happen. Have fun!" The mech sounded cheery and continued to stand there, looking in the general area of the skirmish.

While trying to get the mech off, one of Ultra Magnus' energon lines got cut on the sharp edges of the kamikaze mech. The rest of the group had started trying to help Ultra Magnus, but were forced to defend themselves when an assortment of robots appeared from the purple clouds and rushed the group of Transformers.

Ultra Magnus managed to overpower the attacking mech and threw it into one of the stasis pods, breaking the glass and getting trapped under the debris. Before he was able to go help the rest of the Autobots, however, he felt a pair of arms wrap around his waist, something stabbing into his waist as they did so, and a weight crash into the back of his legs. He went tumbling backwards, and felt the other mech quickly crawl around his side and grab the Forge of Solus Prime. The silver mech jumped out of the way as Ultra Magnus swiped at him, and then did a little victory dance. Ultra Magnus rushed forward to try to tackle the insane mech, but went crashing back to the ground when the mech disappeared in a flash of purple.

Ultra Magnus, after picking himself up off the ground, looked over to the rest of the Autobots and Decepticons, and saw they were getting overwhelmed by the hordes of robots. However, a large flash filled the cavern before he was able to join in.

When it faded away a moment later, not only had the robots melted and the hologram gone, but there was also a boy in the center of the cave. He was looking around, a slightly dazed and very peculiar look on his face. . He gazed around, before staring at the Autobots and Decepticons.

"Well, this is not a sight you see everyday." He said curiously, as if he was a entomologist studying a never-before seen insect.

"Prime, did you scan him? He has Allspark radiation." Asked Megatron, shock clear in his voice.

The boy looked sheepish, before continuing.

"I think I may have some explaining to do. Maybe we should go to the Autobot base, that way I can talk without me having to worry about my health, whether mental or physical."

"Very well, if that is what you wish." Said Optimus diplomatically, knowing what the reactions would be. He wasn't disappointed.

"Hey!" Growled Megatron "What's wrong with my ship?"

"Many things Megaturd. Many things." After a moment, what the boy said registered in everyone's mind. Bumblebee beeped in laughter, Bulkhead let out a single hearty laugh, Arcee frowned in thought, and Optimus almost cracked a smile beneath his faceplate. Almost.

Megatron snarled, before replying.

"You'll pay for that..."

Finally, Optimus commed Ratchet for a Groundbridge, and the group walked through it.

XxXxXxX XxXxXxX

I apologize for the wait, as I had a busy winter. Please review and comment.


	8. Chapter 7

When the group assembled in the main room, Ratchet let out his disagreement of letting the Decepticons come to the base on Optimus with a wrench. The boy watched as the wrench went flying and hit Optimus in the middle of the forehead, before smirking and shaking his head slightly. Ratchet started ranting at Optimus, but Optimus quieted him, pointing out the new human. Then, evidently finding this as good a time as any, the boy started.

"Well, I guess I'll start from the beginning. I guess that the beginning took place during the last few minutes or so of school, so I'll start there. It was the last period of school, and I had science. A few months ago, a friend of mine disappeared, so my parents have been a bit wary...

XxXxXxXxX

(Flashback)

"And so class, I am expecting the thousand word essay on the evolution of homo sapiens and our ancestors to be turned in by Friday." Said the teacher, Mr. Slaughter. The class groaned, but were interrupted by the bell. The class packed up their things and left. One boy by the name Jordan Cready walked up to the front of the class and turned in three stapled papers. Mr. Slaughter looked up to Jordan from his desk and rose an eyebrow upon being handed the papers. He nodded his head with a quiet "thank you" as Jordan walked away. He couldn't help but feel a strange foreboding, as if something important was about to happen.

A long bus ride later, he was at his stop. He started the lengthy trek to his house and he walked in. On the counter was a note from his mom saying she was not going to be home anytime soon. The best bet was that she was shopping, so she would be home a little before dinner time. Jordan read it then went to his room and laid on the bed.

All of sudden, a pain went through his back. He sat up so quickly it was almost as if he never laid down in the first place. He looked at the bed and saw a small metal cube. He picked it up and found it fit perfectly in his hand. Jordan looked closely and saw many small markings etched on. He used his thumb to feel along both the faces and edges, which he soon regretted. The edge was sharp, and he pressed his thumb on it too hard, hard enough to draw blood.

Jordan dropped the cube and started to feel lightheaded. Before he could do anything else, he fainted and fell back against the bed.

XxXxXxXxX

He woke to a giant metal city in ruin. The tallest buildings were so high he couldn't see the tops. The sky was dark, all that was visible were stars. What appeared to be metal roads with sections blasted apart were as wide as five of his houses put side to side. He looked around for any life, but could find nothing. Before he could search for anyone, he was interrupted by a voice.

**"Jordan Allen Cready, I have chosen you to be my prodigy. You will help heal me and make sure my children will live past this war. For I am Primus, the god that has long been worshipped by the Cybertronians. I created them, but I no longer have the power to save them from themselves. My battles with Unicron have used up most of my energy. All I can do is bestow upon you the power of my Allspark, for better or worse. That is, if you so wish."**

Jordan looked down at the ground in thought, wondering if this was a dream. He pinched himself.

_"There is no possible way this could be real. Transformers is just a franchise that has been around for a long time, right? I'm just dreaming. Yeah, just dreaming."_

**"Actually, this is as real as school. What is that line from your world? 'You must understand, when you are writing a novel, you aren't making anything up. It's all there and you just have to find it'. That is true in this case, though obviously it is so much more than a novel. Now, do you wish to be my prodigy or not?"**

"Sure, this may just prove to be fun."

**"Ah yes, I almost forgot to tell you, you may soon see one who is familiar. Now, close your eyes..."**

}XxXxXxX

"And then Primus brought me to the cavern, and the rest is history. Well, he also said wanted me to find Unicron's Prodigy, though he didn't tell me anything else about this person. Anyway, any questions?"

"Yes, one," said Megatron "why would Primus choose a human?"

**"I need one who is neutral in this war, one who cares little for either side. One who has no personal vendetta."**

The group startled and looked around in shock, fear, and surprise, showing that they all heard it. Optimus was the first to speak, and what he said was not a question.

"Primus."

**"Yes, it is I. I am using a lot of energy talking to you, so I am going to be brief. Trust Jordan, he tells the truth. Unicron also has a prodigy. Beware of Zane, he has been here for longer than you would think. He also has the power of the Dark S..."**

"Hello, Primus? Yoohoo? Anyone there?" Called Wheeljack. There was no response.

"Well, is that good enough for you?" Asked Jordan.

"You win this round." Sneered Megatron, narrowing his optics.

Throughout the entire conversation, no one noticed how Jordan's expression changed upon hearing the name Zane. He had a nagging feeling he knew which Zane that was.

"If the Zane is the one I am thinking about, then he will..." What went through Jordan's mind next was many different scenarios of what would happen if Zane had the power of a chaos God, not all of which were necessarily sane. Jordan grew worried for a moment, hoping that nothing would set Zane off. After a second's thought, however, he stopped. When he realized that he had yet to be demonized by the Cybertronians for any truly evil acts he had committed. He continued to ponder this before he realized the conversation was being continued.

"Are you thinking what I am thinking? That Primus was referring to the Dark Spark?"

"Yep, it is definitely Zane. He always wanted power over anything else. He always liked the smart villains, and he is smart. With power, he could be almost unstoppable. I wonder if I'll see him?"

"Impossible. We sent it deep into space in the middle of the war. The direction was nowhere near that of Earth, how could a human obtaIn it?" Asked Ultra Magnus.

"We cannot discount anything when it comes to Unicron. He never follows expectations, and will do whatever he can to stop Primus' goals." Replied Optimus Prime. No one had any responses.

{_~_}

Meanwhile, Zane was in the main room of his base introducing Predaking to Omicron. Due to having seen the episodes that Zane had, Omicron already knew of Predaking, and thus had a one-way conversation with the dragon-like ex-Decepticon.

"Omicron, this is the latest addition to our little band of rebels. I hope the two of of you get along well, else I may have to step in and, ahem, mediate. Anyways, Predaking, come with me, I'll take you to where the clones are. Don't worry, they are perfectly safe. Although, we will want to wake them up one at a time, or else they may harm themselves. Oh, and a word of warning; you will need to prove your dominance over them. I have seen many examples of your species, and they are animalistic. I trust you will know what to do."

Predaking nodded and Zane teleported the two of them to the room that the Predacons were in, a room that was larger than all of the human bedrooms put together. Spread out on the floor were the bodies of the Predacons, all offline. Zane went up to one and and put his hands on it, closing his eyes so that he could focus on the task at hand. A purple glow surrounded both of figures before the Predacon woke up. Zane teleported behind Predaking as the Predacon stood upright and shook its head. This Predacon was in its it's anthropomorphic form, and it looked slightly feminine. It was yellow with bright green highlights on its wings, arms, and legs, had a tail that was like a scorpion's with three little claws on the end, black joints, purple claws, a purple crest on it's head, and yellow horns that would be a better fit for an extravagant crown.

It looked around the room, stopping on Predaking. It's red optics narrowed, and it charged at the larger mech. Predaking readied himself, spreading his legs to take the force, and grabbed the charging Predacon by the horns. He spun and pushed the Predacon against the ground, stepping on it's head in the process. Zane stared up in amusement, hoping the rest would be as easy as this one.

Meanwhile, Predaking started talking to the Predacon, though it was more akin to growling and snarling than communication. The Predacon snarled, baring it's beast-like teeth in the process. Predaking stepped down hard, causing loud squeals from the metal protesting against the pressure. Finally, the Predacon stopped making noise and went limp, in what Zane could only guess be compliance. Predaking stepped off, and the Predacon got up. It finally noticed Zane, and it walked towards him. Predaking growled, and Zane shook his head. Predaking stopped, and the Predacon picked Zane up. Zane reached for the wrist and plugged in his Ipod that he teleported to his hand into the Predacon's port. The Predacon stopped moving and it's optics dimmed as it took in the data Zane was downloading. A moment later, it set Zane back down and spoke in a feminine voice full of cockiness and insolence at the same time.

"Well, it is strange to see such a puny creature has power over my better."

Zane replied while Predaking took a step forward, putting as much anger and indignation into that one action as possible.

"I do not have power over him. We are equals. He helps me, I help him. It is a win-win no matter what way you cut the baby. In fact, I just might reformat Cybertron into a techno-organic planet for his efforts . It just depends on if I am able to do the necessary calculations. Heck, I may need a Quintesson to help. You know, one of those things with five faces. Anyway, if you do not yet have a designation, may I suggest Ser-ket? It suits you rather well."

After a long, drawn out pause, the Predacon nodded and started conversing with Predaking in the snarls and growls. When there seemed to be an end, Zane cocked his head towards Predaking. Predaking nodded, and Zane teleported them to the Transformer Building area, and started talking to Predaking.

"Predaking, now that your faction is gonna start growing dramatically, I have realized that I may need to explain a bit about what was to happen, what happened, and what is to come. You see, upon seeing the remains of Shockwave's lab, they were supposed to notice your clone's CNA combined with the Synth-En created cyber-matter. Then, they would refine the Synth-En. After that, Megatron would try to shoot it down to Earth, but the Autobots would have stopped him. The Autobots got rid of the commanders in the battle, and take the Vehicons to Cybertron. Using the cyber-matter, they revive Cybertron.

Now, obviously, that did not happen. I prevented the Autobots from going there, and I saved the Predacons. Oh, by the way, Shockwave made your clones all male, seemingly so they could not breed. You should know, I may have made a couple of them female. That way they can satisfy their _natural urges_. Anyway, with your CNA, and some of the Synth-En I may or may not have taken from the cave, we can revive Cybertron. Of course, I will not do that without your permission."


	9. Chapter 8

(3 days later)

"Omicron, Boss, scan any and all satellites for any current hacks." Said Zane. He was standing in front of Omicron with his phone out, showing a video feed of Boss in the Communications Hub. The video was being recorded by one of his computers, so the video only showed Boss but not what he was doing. Not that Zane was worried, all of his Sparkless had proven they were loyal. They both started checking, and Boss confirmed there was.

"Do you wish for me to fix it?" Boss asked in a gruff, intimidating voice.

"Of course, but make sure only we can see it, not whatever government sent it up into space. Omicron, pull up the feed on your main screen."

They both did as he said, and to the surprise of none, there was the Nemesis over the Pacific Ocean. Zane grinned, and started speaking.

"Omicron, get the coordinates. Track it's progress. Keep me up to date on any deviations from its course. I am going to get a team ready to infiltrate and overtake it."

"If I may ask, why? I thought you wanted to stay hidden and build up your power?"

"Yes, well, I believe that the time for waiting is over. We have amassed an unstoppable army that will force the Autobots and Decepticons to work together to defeat us, or perish. We must take the Decepticon warship, however. Imagine this. The enemy tries to attack. We bring the Nemesis the site. With my modifications, cannons, guns, turrets, and other weaponry and defense, we stop them. We won't destroy them, clearly, as that would be counter-intuitive. The mere risk of their warship acting as a base for us, their enemy, should be enough of a threat that they will learn to work together and stop us. Taking it will also allow us to get rid of some of their Vehicon drones, forcing the Decepticons to rely on the Autobots more than they would than with hordes of cannon fodder to fight for them."

"Well, you certainly make a good point." Replied Omicron, the face on the screen appearing thoughtful.

Zane walked off, going to find some of his Chosen to come with him. He gathered all of the mechs that he had built, save for Boss, and then got some of his Vex assembled to act as backup. Zane had them teleport to the main room, then he himself teleported to where the Predacons lived. There, he started talking to Predaking, who was surrounded by seven of the Predacons they had woken up.

"Predaking, would you mind helping me fight the Decepticons on the Nemesis? You know it's layout much better than I. Also, we need your help fighting Megatron. But please, if you choose to help us, then do it in your Beast mode. Of course, I am going to bring a lot of backup, most of which will be quite strong against Soundwave, considering he will most likely utilize his Groundbridges. Any assistance you give us will be greatly appreciated. "

"Anything to get back at those Decepticon scum."

"Wait, why do you do whatever he asks? Aren't you stronger than him?" Asked Ser-ket. Both Predaking's and Zane's eyes narrowed. Though Predaking snarled, Zane was the one to answer.

"He does not do whatever I ask. I would lose all respect for him if he did. No, Predaking merely has the intelligence to understand what I plan to do. Perhaps more so than the those who truly are my underlings. And as for your second question, he is _physically_ stronger than me. However, I do have the power of the Dark Spark. That provides me with the ability to control the Universe. However, I'm my eyes we are equals. I would never assume control of him, mainly because I do not think that either one of us could survive an all-out brawl. Now Predaking, let us be off."

Deeming the conversation over, Zane walked over to his Sparkless and chose Stinger, Two-Head, Malice, Havoc, and Roulette to come with him. Zane teleported them all to the main room, and started typing into Omicron's computer. Everyone waited in silence for a couple minutes, before Predaking lost his patience.

"What are you doing?!" He growled in annoyance.

"Making a computer virus to infect the Nemesis with. We wouldn't want them to be able to use any of it against us, now would we? I am also downloading Omicron's mind, I may need it inside the ship." Omicron was the one to reply to Zane's statement.

"I guess you wouldn't want any traps to be sprung, would you? And I thank you for this opportunity. This will be very fun for me: all of that information stored in the ship."

Finally, Zane plugged a flash drive into port of the computer, and pressed download. After a few minutes, most of which were while the bar was at 99%, it was done. Zane pulled the flash drive out and pocketed it.

"Omicron, can you teleport us all to the Nemesis, use that which is used by the Exos. I would do it, but I may need all of the power at my disposal."

"Of course, sir. Good luck, though luck must be supported by some level of skill in order to be of any use. Shame you don't have any."

Before Zane could retort, Omicron followed through with the orders and the group fizzled out of existence.

XxXxXxXxX

The group appeared in a large hallway. They were mildly cramped, considering they were teleported to be in as small an area in case of walls or other obstacles. The group spread out, prepared for ambushes or traps. Zane was quickly lost in thought.

_"What do you call it again? Corridor? Hallway? Agh.. I hate it when I forget something that I almost always recall. Shame I never had the chance to see the actual layout of the ship. Oh well, at least I have Predaking as my guild."_ Zane, slightly sheepish, asked Predaking the question that was of the most importance.

"Hey, Predaking, where are we?"

"We are on the second lowest floor. This is where some of the Vehicons reside. The floor below us is mainly for the engine and other mechanics, while the floor above us is another floor used to house the Vehicons. The floor after that is where the officers have their rooms and at the end of that is the throne room. That is also where Soundwave watches over the ship." Before Predaking could continue, he was interrupted by Zane unleashing a long string of language so colorful it made rainbows look black and white. A moment later, a voice was heard booming throughout the whole ship, sounding annoyed and angry. Zane guessed that Soundwave informed Megatron of the intruders.

_"How did Megatron ever get Soundwave's loyalty anyway? Their personalities are so different."_ Zane then realized he needed to pay attention to what was being said, just in case he could learn anything.

"Decepticons, we have intruders on the fifth floor. Engage immediately. Lethal force is authorized."

"Predaking, guide us through the ship! Megatron's throne room is our destination! Hurry!" Yelled Zane. Predaking nodded and started running throughout the hallway. Stinger picked Zane and placed him on Stinger's shoulder before following the rest of the Chosen. They ended in the back of the group, so they passed pieces of Vehicons; a stray head there, a mauled arm, a leg bent at an unnatural angle, an offline body covered in bite marks and Energon, another corpse that looked as if a wolf, a very large, mechanical wolf used it as a chew toy. Zane stared in shock as he watched a spark vanished in the open spark chamber of a rather unfortunate Vehicon, one who was ripped open to the point that it was almost unrecognizable.

Before the group could continue up to the next floor, a large swarm of Vehicons started rushing them from the direction the group just came. The two groups started firing at the same time, and Zane laughed at the Vehicon's horrible aim. He watched as Stinger alone killed 3 of the charging Vehicons in rapid succession. After the front fifteen were killed and their Energon went spraying into the group of rapidly approaching Vehicons, Stinger charged a blast from his cannon. He aimed and then let it loose, hitting the front Vehicon, who had happened to be drenched in Energon. That Vehicon exploded, causing a chain reaction that caused most of the hallway to explode, killing all of the enemy and forcing Stinger to shield Zane.

The group went up to the next floor, Predaking in the lead. Zane had everyone stop upon reaching a door that seemed to lead to the rest of the floor. He surrounded himself with a purple glow and floated off of Stinger's shoulder, He pulled some magnets out of his pockets, and used his powers to pull them apart. Pushing them and his hand through the door, he released the magnets.

After a few second, punctuated by the sound of electricity and loud thuds, Two-Head was ordered to pull open the door. He did so, and as soon as the door was pulled all the way open, he jumped out of the way as Predaking let loose a fireball. It hit the Vehicons that remained on the other side of the door, melting them almost instantly. Some shots rang out from the other side of the door, but the Chosen shot back and killed the Vehicons that were still alive.

The group, not seeing any more movement, went through the doorway. The path itself was clear, the bodies that had once been in the way melted into the ground. However, the path was flanked by the charred and melted corpses of the Vehicons who were not entirely destroyed. They continued walking to the other side of the hall, getting closer and closer to the throne room, which held the Decepticons that Zane wanted to meet.

The group set foot on the uppermost level of the Nemesis, and quickly killed the remaining Vehicon's who stood as guards, as well as a few Seekers They entered the throne room and was met by a booming voice.

"Decepticons, attack!"

All at once, over a dozen Vehicons, Seekers, as well as Megatron, Soundwave, Shockwave, and Knockout started shooting at Zane and his Chosen. Zane, wanting to keep casualties at a minimum in this battle, knew that he would have to stop the firefight. So, he started glowing purple and froze the Decepticons who were left on the ship. Stinger started speaking, as he knew Zane would want him to; and also put Zane on his shoulder.

"Megatron, would you like to survive the day? If so, Boss have a wager for you."

Megatron snarled and appeared to be trying to escape. Finally, he gave up.

"Fine, what is it?!" Megatron all but growled. Stinger smiled a predatory grin and walked over to where Soundwave was frozen by the computers. Stinger rested his arm on it, and Zane crawled down. After a moment of attempting to find a place to insert the flash drive, he gave up and used his power to rip Soundwave's tentacle out of the port. He jabbed the drive in, and smirked as an image of Boss appeared on the screen.

"Oh, I am so glad the group made it to your room. Now then, my wager is this. You will choose two champions to fight mine. Whoever wins gets to decide the losing side's fate. So, are the terms acceptable?"

"Fine!" Snarled Megatron, not seeing any other way and feeling overconfident. "I choose Soundwave and I!"

"Oooh, good choice. The two ex-gladiators of almost equal standing. Well, this will be fun for sure."

"And who will you choose, Boss?" Asked Stinger.

"Easy. Predaking and Roulette. Now then... I am going to activate the Groundbridge. I have the perfect place in mind. We finished it up the other day. Specifically for this occasion."

With that, a Groundbridge opened up. Zane made the Decepticons float up off the ground and into the Groundbridge. The Chosen then went through also.

{_~_}

Zane stared at the arena. It was basically a giant metal pit in the ground. It was about four times as tall as Two-Head, and large enough that ten blue whales could fit in with plenty of room left over. The sides were so smooth any cracks would have to be measured in nanometers. There were a few rocky piles spread throughout the arena. Finally, on top, there were thick metal bars to prevent any fliers from escaping. They were made of Zane's favorite materials. Each bar had an inch thick bar of Transformium covered with five inches of carbon nanotubes. The combination of materials were all but unbreakable, which is why Zane used it as bars. The area around the arena was a forest, trees meters thick and clustered together.

Zane teleported Megatron and Soundwave into the arena on one side, while Predaking and Roulette were teleported by one of the Vex. The Vex came back out in time to see Stinger walk up to the edge of the bars.

"In one side, we have the Chosen champions: Predaking and Roulette." Stinger said, mimicking a boxing referee. The Vex cheered as much as robots with no individual personality could cheer, along with the enthusiastic Two-Head, Malice, and Havoc. They quieted down when Stinger continued.

"And in the other side, we have the Decepticon's chosen champions: Megatron and Soundwave!" All that could be heard was a cricket and what had to be a recording of a male cough. Zane had a suspicion that Havoc had done it, though he was unable to prove such an accusation. Stinger continued.

"Since introductions are over, let me lay down rules. I want a nice clean fight. Lots of spilled Energon and scrap metal. The only thing not allowed is... a peaceful ending. Now, fight!" Stinger played a recording of a bell, and Zane watched in glee as the two sides rushed each other.

{_~_}

(Roulette POV)

I ran forward, not keeping up any defense whatsoever. Megatron got in the way. The little slagger! I am going to make a him a pile of scrap so... Oh look, Predaking is fighting Soundwave. Oh, that's gotta hurt. Not the optic, I can't help but wince. Ah, how is Soundwave so agile! Did he just do the splits?! Oh yeah... What was I thinking about? Oh look, Megatron is trying to stab me.

Twirl, jump, and block for good measure. Run to the wall, transform my servo that is not the permanent sword into a blaster, take aim, and fire. Yikes, right under belt. If he wore a belt. But he doesn't. Wait, was there a butterfly in the way? Look at the little silhouette on his little... um... oh well. Oh, dang, he looks pissed. How is he so fast?! He went from like seventy-five bazillion million meters away to right in my face. How?! Oh... maybe this is just one of my videogames I downloaded. Legally of course. On the internet. On the Dark Web. For free. Let's see, jump off the wall, grab his head, and keep going. Easy to do annnnd... nailed it! Oh... he does NOT look happy. Shame, he really should smile more.

"Roulette used his signature move, wall jump! The opposing Megatron is enraged!" I shouted, not being able to stop myself. I might as well look over to Predaking. Oh, looky here, Soundwave is using his strange tentacle thingys. That might not be fun, I better help Predaking. One shot, two shot, threefourfivesixseveneightnine... and done. I missed every single shot. HOW!? Ahh! Oh look, Megatron just sliced my back. How dare he?! I'll show him. Jump, spin, pat his helm, and finally try to stab his helm. Oh, really now?! You spin! Have dare you! Hahaha, right in you optic. Hey! Don't push me away!

"Guess what! You are just a little pile of worthless scrap playing with the big boys. And we are big. Look at Predaking! He's huger than anyone could ever hope to be! Now, die Megsy, die!" I yell, rushing him. That... May not have been the smartest idea I ever had. Look at his optic. That insane look... I love it! Slice, stab, jab, kick, shoot, how does he escape all of that?! Oh, how dare he! He hacked the game! Only I am allowed to do that! Now I might as well grab him, lift him up... oh look! He's scared... and throw him into Soundwave. Haw, look at all of those scratches and scrapes on them... poor Predaking. He's almost as bad as the two of them combined!

"Switch opponents! I can handle Slenderwave! Kill Megsy for me!" I may have better luck with Soundwave. Run run, faster than the Flash... oh yeah, I need to continue playing Injustice, my energy should be filled up by now... and stab Soundwave in the visor. That little glitch! He blocked it! That little slagging glitch-headed SPAWN of a scraplet... Ow! He shocked me! Me! Roulette! The champion of the Chosen! I can't let down Zane. That look of disapproval in his optics... eyes! Humans have eyes... I can't stand it. I feel like I just made the biggest mistake ever when he does that... Don't whimper... Don't whimper... And I didn't whimper. Of course I didn't. Whoever said I did? That person's lying. Who is he? I'll kill him... AGAIN!? He shocked me again! Use all of my strength and slice his helm in two...

"Augh!" I screech. A sword is sticking out of my chestplates. It hurts! I can't stop myself from falling to the ground. Oh, I am so sorry for failing you Zane, please don't hate me. How could I see Megatron behind me in my blind spot... The light, it's getting closer. Goodbye, cruel world. Goo... Wait... I can't die! What an idiot! I literally can not die. Might as well have a dramatic revival. What song should I play to set the mood... Oh yes, perhaps some organ music. Perfect.

Now, become a whirlwind of Transformium so I can remake myself... laugh internally at the look on everyone's faceplates. Except Zane, he was obviously expecting this. Then I need to start forming my frame. Focus on the details...

Work on my outside... make a couple missiles to shoot at Soundwave and Megatron... ready a cannon...

Aim... ready... fire five missiles at those two... Bullseye! Haha! Now they are little more than Mangled bodies... Hopefully they don't swing from wires on the ceiling, trying to take a bite out of me... and having others giving up on fixing them... oh well. Not my problem. Zane and Stinger will figure out what to do from here. I hope they appreciate me. I hope.

XxXxXxX

_"What in the name of all that is holy just happened? Never mind, I do not wish to know. What to do... I guess I may as well fix Megatron slightly... Look at all of that Energon. That... May not be healthy. I wonder if... Yep, I won, didn't I?"_ Wondered Zane. He nodded to Stinger, who smirked underneath his mask before addressing Megatron.

"So, Megaloser, how did you enjoy getting your aft handed to you on a silver platter with a shot of High Grade?" Asked Stinger "Now, we won that bet, that _roulette_ if you will. So, I will be taking the Nemesis off your hands... and Soundwave. I have always wanted to open him up and see what makes him tick. As I speak, Boss is contacting the Autobots saying you are in need of a medic. Now... If you please...?"

Zane threw a small metal ball in the middle of the pit. It released a green gas that Zane had perfected. It was a mixture of Tox-En combined with assorted other chemicals designed to cause any and Transformers who inhale it in their vents to go into stasis. Once the Decepticons were out, he teleported all of them, with the exception of Soundwave, to just outside of where Jasper, Nevada once was. Once they were gone, Zane used his power to awaken Predaking and teleport the group to base. He left the Chosen to sort themselves out and teleported once more to his bedroom and laid down on his bed, before immediately going out like a light.


End file.
